Handicamp
by Berytni
Summary: With summer half-over, Artie returns to the summer camp that gave him his confidence back, after the accident, as a councilor. However, an unexpected and familiar face also joins the staff - which changes everything.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This was supposed to be my summer writing project, and considering that I have three weeks of summer left - I thought I'd at least get it started before season thee airs. It wouldn't make sense else wise. This is why my updates on ETC have been - lacking, but don't worry if you like that story - it's far from over. I'll just be working on this too. Anyways, this is set in the summer before Artie and Tina's junior year and it's in Artie's POV. Thanks for reading! (Okay, I have the right document now. That's embarrassing)  
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><p>It wasn't until three years after the accident that left me paralyzed from the waist down did I finally begin my long journey of self-acceptance. Even as an eight year old I knew I was different compared to the other kids my age, but I <em>felt <em>different – almost inhuman compared to the other boys and girls that could play tag on the playground or skip rope in the streets. Everyday I sat by myself – everyday waiting for someone to look past the chair and make me feel accepted. I waited until my freshman year of high school where Tina Cohen-Chang, the shy girl with a stutter, befriended me; but even she eventually strayed.

However, all of that began to change the year my mother sent me away for half a summer to a retreat program on Lake Eerie for children with disabilities. There I wasn't discriminated against or looked down on as a minority. There everyone was accepted no matter their ability, and there I realized that I wasn't alone – which is why when became old was enough to became a counselor at Camp-Capable, I jumped at the opportunity. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

As my mother steers turns our wheelchair accessible family van onto the main dirt road of the camp, everything starts to come back to me from my childhood. I recognize the sign at the mouth of the campus and that leads me to remembering how anxious I felt the first time mom brought me to camp. I was eleven, extremely shy, victim to being a social outcast on account of my wheelchair, and it was going to be my first time being away from home for an elongated period of time. My expectations were less than high, and they stayed that way until I saw an older girl with long wavy hair in a wheelchair just like mine – a Quickie brand with a red frame. She ended up being my councilor, and from there on I knew I was in the right place.

I watch pine tree after pine tree go by, as we cruise along under twenty miles per hour, until we come into a clearing in the shape of a lumpy kidney. To the right is the shore line of Lake Eerie with a large field of neatly trimmed grass separating the beach from the road, and to the left is a temporary area marked off for parking with a collection of rustic looking cabins shallowly hidden within the forest behind it. A traffic director in orange is unnecessary on account that campers won't be on site for at least twenty-four hours, so mom guides herself to one of the many empty parking spaces. Once at a full stop, she looks back at me and nods an okay for me to unstrap myself from the car floor.

"Do you want help with your stuff? I can stay a bit if you want," she asks once I'm out and onto the hard dirt ground.

"Mom, we talked about this."

"Right, right, I'm sorry," she says, shaking her head and going to open the trunk.

With a wistful sigh, I follow behind my mom to the back of the car where she unloads the contents of the trunk, a large black duffle bag and a bulky green rolled up sleeping bag into my lap.

"Do you have everything?" mom asks with her hands on the trunk lid, hesitant to slam it down.

"If not, there will probably be an arts and crafts class for it."

She rolls her eyes and closes the trunk.

"Do I at least get a kiss?"

I press my lips together into a smile, blink slowly, and nod three times. Swiping my bangs to the side with her hand, mom kisses my forehead with a soft sounding smooch. She continues to stay at my eye level as she combs my hair back into place with her fingers. She's proud of me – I'm not exactly sure what for, but I can see it in her eyes. Maybe it's the fact I've overcome my disability to the point that I'm ready to reach out to others to help them do the same. After all, I'm bigger than my body gives my credit for, as John Mayer would say.

When mom builds up to leaving, I watch the van disappear back into the trees with my back towards the camp. Once it's completely out of sight, I pull hard on my right wheel to turn myself one hundred-eighty degrees to face the mess hall. I keep my hands on the metal of my wheels and scan the campus back and forth with my eyes before smiling and enthusiastically jolting forward towards the building. On the way to the nicely angled ramp next to the stairs, opposed to on the other side of the building in the most inconvenient place like many facilities, I pass a flag pole surrounded by daffodils and the big welcome sign in front of the health building. Inside are people setting up tables and chairs for both meal time and the elaborate process of signing in. At the door, a camper will get a T-shirt and a name tag, then they move on to actually being checked in, selecting a meal plan, and making sure everything's all set for them to have an amazing and safe time at camp.

Because my name is at the top of the list, having a name were both parts start with the letter 'A' will do that do you, the camp director approaches me first with a sky blue polo and a manila folder stuffed with papers. The shirt is to easily differentiate campers and councilors on the first day, but the folder is filled with information about the two weeks ahead, and also with information about my campers themselves. I'm then sent off to find my cabin to settle in before a staff meeting in half an hour out front. More cars have filled the parking lot since my arrival and I could hear another one coming down the road.

The cabins are set back in the woods behind only a few crooked rows of trees – enough to get that wilderness feeling but still an easy distance for campers and councilors alike with mobility issues. The buildings are large and up off the ground with two ramps coming off the sides that lead up to a deck. Each cabin holds two or three groups depending on camper population. Ours is the closest one to main sight on the far left. I trek up the ramp off the left side of the building where my group will be staying and open the door to a medium seized rectangular room. Five empty and identical twin sized beds line the walls – two on the right, two on the left, and one in the center against the smallest wall. As I make my way to the middle bed, the floorboards squeak and rumble underneath my wheels.

I remove my bags from my lap and replace them with the manila folder. On the surface of my bed, I arrange the papers into orderly piles of; information for me, scheduling, and camper information. I have thee – all girls between the ages of eight and eleven with varied mobility. I can barely understand and handle girls my age back home let alone pre-teens, this is going to be interesting. What do young girls like? Rainbows? Butterflies? I wouldn't know where to begin.

Camper information aside, I begin to unpack my belongings and make my bed. On the wall I tack important information up by my pillow along with a picture of my mom and me. If I still had a girlfriend – she'd probably be up there too. Both relationships I've had, I've lost to someone better – see what I mean about not understanding girls? With a sigh, I run my hand along a crease in my sleeping bag and drop my duffel back with the rest of my things onto the floor. Before daring to transfer back into my chair, I check the time, sit back against the wall, and close my eyes with ten minutes until I have to be outside.

As I relax, I hear the councilor next door rummaging around her side of the cabin. At least – I think it's a girl, for I heard her humming to herself, but then again – Kurt sounds like a girl when he sings…in a good way, of course. I'll stop while I'm ahead. The idea of stopping in and introducing myself courses through my mind, but seeing as I'll probably meet her in during the staff meeting, I remain on my side of the cabin.

When I hear the door on the other side of the building slam shut, I figure it's time to go. I open my eyes, adjust my glasses, and pull my wheelchair over before transferring inside. Before leaving, I scan the room to make sure I haven't left anything before exiting onto the deck. As I guide my chair down the ramp – I look out at the girl that just left our building. On her feet are black boots that come up to her ankle with neon green laces double knotted at the top. Black jean shorts hug her curves and a loose dark purple T-shirt hangs over her shoulders. From her head down to the middle of her back drapes dark and shiny hair…with vibrant blue steaks hidden within the layers. Coincidence – definitely a coincidence, I think, but then I look down to the purple and grey plaid messenger bag with an Angry Birds keychain on the front pocket.

Tina Cohen-Chang.

Pushing harder and faster at my wheels, I increase my speed to catch up, but the rough footing makes the task nearly impossible. Instead I give my arms a break and call out at her instead. The girl's head turns before the rest of her body with a complexed look on her face. She squints at me for a second before her eyes widen and her eyebrows rise.

"A-Artie?" she asks, still perplexed.

"So it is you," I mumble under my breath, looking out of the corners of my eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, walking towards me.

"I could ask you the same," I say. "Infidelity isn't considered a disability."

"Oh ha-ha, Artie," she says. "You don't need to have a disability to work here."

"_You're working here?"_ I ask.

"Yeah, I needed a job, so I took it."

"What about _Asian Camp_?"

"I…um…broke…never mind. It didn't work out."

"Right."

I look around her and see the camp director talking with her hands to the other councilors. "I gotta go," I say, rolling around her.

I push myself away as fast as I can. She doesn't belong here. This is my place – my sanctuary. The last thing I want is my ex-girlfriend running around and having to see her every waking minute. When Tina broke up with me, yeah, I wanted her back. I missed her, I missed her so badly that I went out and slept with another girl to try and forget her. However, then I realized what she did to me. Yeah, okay, I could have been a better boyfriend, but she went out and cheated on me with a perfect able bodied _dancer_. A dancer. I made myself forget about her, only to be civil and friendly for Glee Club and other school related events – and here she is coming back into my life all over again, and there's nothing I can do about it.


	2. Chapter 2

I set my alarm clock half an hour earlier than I needed to get up for the first day of camp. My day bag was packed and I was prepared for the day ahead, but I wanted first dibs at the shower before Tina clogs up the drain with her hair or contaminates the air with her conditioner. Councilors share the smaller bathroom while campers from both groups share the multiplex. Plus taking a shower that night would be challenging with three middle school aged girls running, or in my case – rolling, around. I strip down to my boxer shorts and prepare my day's ensemble in my lap – the blue polo I was given yesterday and a pair of loose fitting khakis. After folding a belt on top of the pile in my lap, I roll down the short hallway to the bathroom.

From the outside of the cabins, one would expect the bathrooms to have the same kind of rustic feel. However, they look sparkling new with the kind of equipment that people like myself require to do mundane tasks such as taking a shower. In fact, the arrangements are similar to the ones I have at home, so I feel comfortable with the atmosphere. On the sink counter I place my clean clothes and fold up my glasses before stripping down – throwing my boxers sloppily on the floor. From my chair, I transfer onto the shower bench, and before I turn on the water, I drape a towel on the seat and armrests of my wheelchair for after.

The shower forces me awake and makes me feel less grubby from sleeping in an unfamiliar bed. I turn off the shower and shake out my hair before pulling the double layered shower curtain aside. Then I take my towel, run it along my torso, and though my hair once before placing it back on the seat of my chair so I can dry the lower half of my body without getting the seat wet. Pulling my chair closer, I transfer back inside and bend at the waist to place my feet on the rest. Using my knees for leverage, I push my torso vertical, and that's when the door opens.

"Oh my God," Tina shrieks. "Why are you naked?"

"I took a shower," I say, pulling the towel ends over my groin. "Why don't you knock?"

"I-I…um…I," she stutters, turning bright red.

"_Go_," I order.

"Sorry, sorry!" She squeaks in a panic before backing away and slamming the door.

I groan and run my hands down my face – stretching my skin over my cheekbones. Why me? I haven't been up fifteen minutes and I've already exposed my genitals to someone…no, not just someone, my ex-girlfriend. Lovely, splendid, this housing arrangement is already working out wonderfully. I try to put the event past me as I get dressed, and my attempts were successful until I open the door and see her flustered face again. She's picturing me naked, her scanning eyes makes it painfully obvious, but I just roll past back into my cabin.

By the time I work up the courage to face other people after the mishap, cars are pulling onto the campus. I hold my breath and pull up next to the other councilors gathered in front of the flag pole – waving at the incoming cars. I glance over at Tina, and she catches my gaze before slipping out of her place in the group and trotting towards me.

"Hey," she says.

"Hi," I drag out.

"Sorry about…earlier."

"Whatever."

"Can we stop pretending that we hate each other?" she asks.

"Who's pretending?"

"Artie, I'm serious."

I sigh and roll my eyes – "fine."

Tina looks forward before pressing her lips together and getting down on her knees next to the left side of my chair. She rests my elbows on my arm rest and looks up at me.

"Yes?" I question, getting annoyed with her persistence.

"Do you think we could talk later? You know – after our kids go to bed?"

"I don't remember inspirminating anyone."

"Artie, you know what I mean."

"If I say yes, will you leave me alone?" I ask.

"Yeah, sure," she says halfheartedly.

"Fine," I sigh.

"Great," she says, patting my armrest before standing up. "Meet me on the veranda after lights out."

Tina returns to the other side of the flagpole, and I die a bit inside. Ignoring her presence was going to be harder than expected, but I guess luck was on my side because she was chosen to stay outside for stragglers with a few other councilors. I on the other hand go into the mess hall with the rest of the staff to piece together our groups. Most councilors are paired with no more than four kids, but some campers, depending on their needs, get one on one attention. Like the quadriplegic enrolled requires more physical help than I can give, so he's paired up with a more able bodied councilor. I'm not the only disabled employee though, actually, it's encouraged for a more relatable experience for the kids.

I set myself up in a corner and adjust the name tag over my breast bone. It's not long before I'm approached by my first camper – a shy looking girl with thin rimed oval glasses and dark hair pulled into a simple ponytail down the back of her neck. She rolls up behind her father, who introduces her as Mikayla. I welcome her to camp and she smiles slightly, but otherwise keeps to herself. Then I hand her father a map of the campus, with our cabin circled in pen, and say that I'll be up in half an hour. It's hard to tell whether she'll be easy or difficult to get to know. I play the same routine with the two other girls; Sophie, the oldest with short blonde hair in pigtails, and Megan, the tiny girl with flaming red curly hair.

Once the three sets of parents finish getting their daughters comfortable, they're all mine until the end of summer. It's a scary thought, really – me being responsible for three middle school aged girls. They seem relatively well mannered though. I clear my throat to call their attentions, and all but Mikayla look at me instantly – she first dog ears her book and tucks it between her thigh and armrest.

"I'm not really good at this, but my name's Artie," I say, with a shy smile as I roll down the cabin. "I'm a junior in high school, I sing and play guitar for our show choir, I like to read, science is my favorite subject, and…oh, and I play football too."

"_Football_?" Sophie asks, raising her eyebrows.

"Mhmm," I smile and nod.

"_How_?"

"At school I have this special chair – kind of like a beach wheelchair but sturdier, and our quarterback pushes me down the field with the ball. I've made seven total touch downs."

"You really did that?" Mikayla softly asks.

"I sure did," I say. "I didn't get in right away though, the couch had her doubts, but it was my determination that made her let me play because I really wanted to win my…I really wanted to see if I could do it."

"Wow," she said with a faint smile.

That's right – I joined the football team to win Tina back. Sometimes I forget how much I really loved her, because at the time, I couldn't imagine doing anything so radical for anyone else. I shake off the thought and have the girls introduce themselves to clear my head.

By the end of the day, the girls are more social with each other and me, and I'm slowly getting to know them better. Mikayla's just as shy as I assumed, but she's also the most obedient. Sophie's more snarky, but is otherwise a good kid, and Megan's kind of a mix of the two, being probably the friendliest out of the three. I'm just glad none of them hate me.

To my dismay, they go to bed easily. Why do I have to have the well behaved kids that go to bed when they're told and take 'lights out' literately? I had secretly hoped that one of them would have a minor problem that prevented me from going out to meet Tina, but unfortunately – or fortunately, I'm not sure – that wasn't the case. And so, when I'm sure that they are asleep, or at least close, I quietly open the door and close it behind me as I roll out onto the deck. Tina's sitting between our cabins with her legs dangling off the side of the deck, and her forearms rested on the fence. The sun has almost set, and it's dark enough for the automatic porch lights. When she hears my door close, she looks back and gestures me over with her head. I reluctantly pull up next to her.

"I thought you weren't gonna show," she says, swinging her legs back and forth.

"I thought about it," I grimly say.

"Listen, Artie…I'm sorry."

"You can stop apologizing. I get it, it was an accident. It's not your fault; I should have locked the door-"

"N-no, not for that," she says with a hint of color. "I mean…for everything."

"A little late for that, isn't it?"

"Will you stop being so snarky and just listen to me for a minute?" She snaps.

"Fine."

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Artie," she says. "I was so – infested with Mike that I just snapped and it was wrong, and I'm sorry."

_Infested is an understatement._

I sigh – "it's fine."

"No it's not," she says, shaking her head. "And I realize that now."

"I pushed you away. It's not your fault – but mine. I'm the reason that you strayed," I say, thinking out loud. "_I_-_I'm_ sorry."

We both become quiet to the point where there's nothing but crickets chirping in the background. I think about turning around to go back inside, but then I hear a sniff that's far from my own, so I stay planted next to Tina until she speaks up.

"You were my best friend," she sniffs again. "I never had that with Mike."

_What happened?_

"D-don't cry, Tina."

"I-I know I did you wrong, and that you probably hate me but…do you think, I don't know, do you think we could _try_ to be just friends again?" She asks, wiping her eyes. "I miss you."

I sigh and close my eyes, not wanting to make her anymore upset – "Okay, Tina."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it. For those that enjoy this story, my sincerest apologies, I'll try to update more. All of the non-Artina on Glee inspires me to write this more because I want to make everything right between them and RM isn't doing that for me. Thanks for reading and putting up with my hiatus(').**

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><p>"<em>Artie…Artie?"<em>

"_Is he dead?"_

"_Dead people don't breathe, Megan."_

"_Should we poke him?"_

"_I don't know!"_

Little do they know – I'm already awake…and I have been since they started frolicking around the cabin five minutes ago. I kept my eyes closed the intension of falling back asleep, but it was to no avail. As one of the girls prods my ribcage with one of their fingers, I consider springing up and shouting 'boo'. However, I deem such an action inappropriate – for the first day at least. Instead, I blink my eyes open and look over at the figures on my right. They're both blurry, but I'm able to distinguish Megan by her hair on the left and Sophie by her lack of wheelchair on the right.

"Yes?"

"Artie, do you know how to french braid?"

"No?" I answer, dragging out the vowel as I question, to myself, what makes a braid _French._

"I did my best," Sophie half-heartedly says, putting most of her weight in her left crutch as her right hand cups Megan's shoulder.

I quietly groan to myself as I slowly sit up and fold my sleeping bag over my lap. Running my hands up my face, I rub out the collected sleep from the corners of my eyes before plopping them back down into my lap.

Upon hearing Tina's voice from across the building, I point down the corridor that separates the two rooms. "There," I order. "Go down there and ask the girl with black and blue hair. Her name's Tina."

The girls exchange glances before heading in the direction I've pointed them to. Once they're gone, I fall back against my pillow, cover my face, and sigh to myself. Maybe there will be coffee available at breakfast. Even if I can't stand the stuff, the bitter taste is sure better than feeling drowsy all day. I shouldn't be so tired for the first official day of camp. I shouldn't have stayed up with Tina half the night. This shouldn't be happening.

"A-Artie?"

That's right, I have one more. I uncover my face and turn my head to the right. The only other person in the room other than me is Mikayla. She's sitting on her bed, across from me, with a purple backpack held to her chest – looking ready to leave at any moment.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm alright", I say, slowly sitting up again. "Just tired."

She nods almost understandingly. That's when I notice the dark patches formed under her eyes.

"Mikayla, Mikayla come here!"

Her eyes light up and I give her a nod of approval to join her cabin mates on the other side of the building. She transfers into her wheelchair and rolls out of sight. Someone so young shouldn't look so tired, but I figure in that it was probably that 'first night in a new place' kind of insomnia and let it be.

With the girls out of the room, I quickly change from my nighttime attire to khakis and a T-shirt. There's not time for much else…we're already behind schedule. My shower would have to be moved forward twelve or so hours to a point between where all the girls are asleep and when Tina might want to talk. Would she want to talk again? Granted I'm exhausted, but it was kind of nice…even if half the time she looked as if she was going to cry. Then again, do I want to talk again? I don't think I'm ready to be friends. Heck, I don't even know if I like her here.

"I think these belong to you."

I look up to see Tina standing in the doorway, arms crossed with her eyebrows raised. Sophie, Megan, and Mikayla file in after her; all with neatly braided pigtails, except for Mikayla who chose to have a single braid down her back. They come in, return to their designated bunks, and begin to gather their belongings. I begin to feel bad for accidentally forcing my girls onto Tina, who most likely already had her hands full with her own campers, but before I can even begin to mouth an apology – her back is turned and she's already on her way back to her side of the cabin.

"Come on, Artie. Come on!" Sophie says. "Tina said it's breakfast time."

"Okay, okay," I chuckle, pulling my wheelchair closer to bed.

The girls wait for me to transfer into my chair before following me out of the cabin. It's the beginning of a beautiful day. The sun is shining with only a few transparent white and fluffy clouds coving the blue sky, which makes the current on the lake sparkle like diamonds. Even from outside, the sweet smell of blueberry pancakes and freshly ground coffee, are apparent. I take the warm air through my nose, sigh happily, and send my campers with their grumbling bellies inside.

The meal program is basically like a small, tasty smelling factory. The cafeteria ladies build healthy square meals on white dinner plates, and campers and councilors alike pick up their own try with the exception of those with special meal plans, allergies, or extreme mobile deficiencies. Then there's a buffet type of table with fruits, vegetables, drinks, and cold meal options like peanut butter and jelly or cereal. Groups are assigned to tables depending on what program and cabin they're in. Campers with less mobility are closer to the kitchen. I guide our group of four to our table for seven and give a brief explanation of how meals work before sending them off. I'd get my own food after Sophie, Megan, and Mikayla are settled.

"Good morning."

I look over my shoulder to see Tina one handedly bringing a breakfast tray from over my head down to the spot at the table next to me. A child half of her height confidently follows after her with a walker and Tina helps him get settled at the table before pulling out her own chair to sit next to me.

"Hi," I reply, playing with the Velcro on the gloves under the table.

"How was your night?"

"Fine," I shrug.

Tina starts to open her mouth, but then suddenly her torso jerks forward and breakfast food flies over her head and onto the table. I look back and Tina's second camper stands a couple feet back with his tray dangling from his hand and a terrified look on his face. Without thinking I push away from the table and turn myself to face a shaken boy.

"Hi, my name's Artie," I say playing my hand on his shoulder, "I'm the councilor that lives next door. What's your name?"

"My name's C-Caleb. W-what happened?"

I look back at Tina who has maple syrup dripping down her face and egged lodged in her hair.

"Uh…you just had a little mishap with the table. Everything's okay, though."

I take a hold of the boys hand and bring it to the handles of my chair. "Come on, the table's not too far away. Just follow me. We'll get you another plate of food."

Tina gets up, covers her face, and sprints in the direction of the bathroom just in time for Sophie, Megan, and Mikayla to return to the table with their breakfasts'. Mikayla carries her own tray in her lap, and Megan balances two on account of Sophie and her crutches.

"What happened here?" Sophie asks, surveying the scene with raised eyebrows.

"Mikayla, you're in charge, Sophie, find someone to help clean this up, and Megan you help Caleb here get breakfast. Go!"

"But…" Sophie starts.

"_Go_."

"Okay, okay!"

The girls scramble in different directions, while I follow the trail of scrambled eggs to the girls bathroom. First, I knock at the appropriate door, but then realize there's no knob and that it simply swings back and forth. I slowly bring my hand away, thankful no one saw that. Turning around in the hall way, I back up into the wooden door until it gives in, and my wheels are upon black and white tiles. To my immediate right is a low counter with two sinks and in-between those two sinks, sits Tina with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Artie, you were right," she sniffs, wiping tears from under her eyes. "I don't belong here."

"W-what?"

"I don't have a disability…I can't understand these kids. For heaven's sake, Artie, I have 20/20 vision and I'm the councilor of two legally blind children. I don't know how to interact with them. I'm not familiar with the line between overbearing and helpful. That's why I have egg in my hair. Zach seemed fine on his own, so I assumed the same for Caleb. I'm so…stupid. He probably hates this place now because of me. I should just go home," Tina cries.

"You had no problem with Megan, Mikayla, and Sophie this morning," I say after a brief silence.

"That's different," she says, reaching over to the wall for a paper towel to blow her nose in.

"No it's not," I say, shaking my head. "Caleb, Zach…Mikayla, Sophie, Megan…they're all just kids."

Tina sighs and looks down at her swinging feet.

"How did you feel when you first met me?"

Tina shrugs.

"I bet you were kind of nervous. People are always afraid of saying the wrong things around me."

Tina nods.

"But you got though that. In fact, you were the first one to befriend me. Then we became best friends…and fell in love."

Tina smiles.

"You just need to get to know them better. It's just the first day – you have thirteen more to go."

"M-maybe you're right," she says, picking up her head.

"Now no more tears. I'll take care of Caleb and Zach, you go ahead and freshen up. I'll meet you back at the table."

Tina nods and I give her a small smile before turning around.

"Hey, Art?"

I look back at her, "y-yeah?"

"Thank you."


End file.
